Former U-46 board member, Elgin business owner dies

Robert August is remembered by colleagues as a "nuts and bolts" guy who wanted the very best for the students of Elgin Area School District U-46.

"When we voted on school chairs, he had different kinds brought into board meetings so he could try them out," said current U-46 board member, Karen Carney, who served with August in the 1990s. "He wanted to touch them and see them and make sure they were the best we could get."

August, of Elgin, passed away Wednesday at Sherman Hospital in Elgin after a long illness. He was 65.

Born in Chicago, August studied art and history at Long Island University in New York, and later received a master's in education from National Louis University.

During the Vietnam War, he served as a paramedic in the Navy.

Three years after meeting Lois Kemp, the pair married in 1977. The couple had two children, Kristen and Michael.

Lois August remembered that no matter where the family seemed to be, or what they would be doing, Robert "always seemed to know something about it." A history buff and stamp collector, August also enjoyed gardening, watercolor painting and architecture.

For more than 25 years, he owned and operated Elgin-based Expocom Inc., where he designed and built custom displays and exhibits for trade shows. Lois August said when he became ill, he brought the business home with him.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he served on the U-46 school board.

Current board president Ken Kaczynski, who served with August for a brief time, said "he really got into things, and really wanted to understand."

The district was rapidly growing then, building and establishing boundaries for new schools, and dealing with the ramifications of a 1991 teachers strike.

In addition to the U-46 board, August was also a member of the Gifford Park Association and the Elgin Chamber of Commerce.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Wait-Ross-Allanson Funeral and Cremation Services Chapel, 51 Center St., Elgin. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials should be sent to the Sherman Hospital Foundation, 934 Center St., Elgin, IL 60120.